Third Day Ministries - December 25, 2008
WORD OF THE WEEK: The Secret Christmas by Pastor Tom Marxen
The Secret Christmas
With all the Christmas Plays, Christmas Carols, Decorations, Shopping frenzy, and “magical” Christmas stories and tales, it’s all too easy to miss the simple and the obvious in the Biblical account of the birth of Jesus, the Messiah.
The Timing:
While the birth of Christ is arguably the most pivotal event of history, it is also curious that it happens in a very obscure and secret way.
The Bible says that the whole of the Old Testament (the Law and the Prophets) speaks of Him (Matthew 5:17) and that He was born “at just the right time” (Romans 5:6), but this same Bible never gives us an instruction to commemorate the date of His birth. The truth of the matter is that we absolutely cannot pinpoint the exact day of the year that Jesus was born. There is a lot of evidence for this or that season, but there is no “birth certificate” or other definitive documentation that gives us the exact day. I believe that this is no accident. It is the glory of a king to conceal a matter (Proverbs 25:2). I believe that there is a reason for the day being hidden, and therein is the message for us.
The Location:
Bethlehem. Now if you were to arrange the advent of a Messiah (of which the whole of the Law and Prophets spoke), you would probably arrange for his arrival at Jerusalem, the capital and center of worship in Israel. The Messiah would then be greeted by the Jewish religious leaders and scholars and his arrival could then be definitively documented and confirmed so that no one would miss Him.
Instead, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a mere 5 ½ miles from Jerusalem. If we were standing on the moon shooting at a pinpoint target on the earth, we could even say that is was a pretty good shot, missing Jerusalem by such a small distance. With such a small distance “off” from the logical target surely the news of his birth should still get to the Temple leaders quickly and easily.
But it did not work out that way – the birth was kept hidden and no one at the temple in Jerusalem got the message even though the shepherds of Bethlehem got the news from angelic hosts. These were rather LARGE groups of angels and the shepherds noised the news of this event “abroad” (Luke 2:2-18). The Bible says that those who heard from the shepherds were amazed, but the news did not travel any further. No one seems to have accepted their message. It was kept secret. There were no celebrations recorded in Bethlehem, Judea, or Jerusalem.
The Pre-conceived Itinerary
What went wrong? You see shepherds were viewed with such low esteem that their testimony was rejected in the Temple courts. Nothing they would or could say would be accepted as truth in the Jewish court of law. They could not keep many of the ceremonial rules of ritual cleanliness so they were always considered “unclean” or defiled. It was to these shepherds that God revealed the birth. He sent the message, but the message was not heard because it did not fit the preconceived itinerary of the religious thinkers. Even twelve years later when the young Jesus was in the Temple, he was still not recognized as the Messiah (Luke 2:42-50). It was a secret birth.
The House of Bread
The name “Bethlehem” means “the house of bread”. Jesus said that He was the true bread from Heaven (John 6:32-40). Paul said, (1 Corinthians 3:16-17) Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? ”. From these scriptures, we can see that we are the present “House of Bread”. We are the present day manger where the Bread of Life is being born.
We are the Bethlehem where the Messiah Jesus is birthed. It is not an allegory, it is the Truth. We are the secret little place where he is birthed. We are the place where the word is made flesh – and we are dwelling among mankind. This event happens individually and often, it is personal and private, it is intimate and powerful. This is where the intimacy between you and the Lord is birthed and “made known”. Your life in Christ starts like an infant and grows in power and strength. As you live in Him, you will hear the angelic proclamation; you will be changing water into wine before your time, and you will be feeding the 5000 on a few fishes and loaves. Just you wait and see! The world will see Jesus in you, but it all begins in secret.
We noise abroad the advent of the Messiah’s arrival, it is a tremendous event, but we often resemble the shepherds in that there are very few that will take our testimony as the truth. They judge our proclamations through their own ideas and agendas. They look at the things we have done in the past or what we are doing now, and we are dismissed. While we are not far off from their religious ideas, like the Bethlehem account, they cannot accept the radical idea that God would actually come into us and live in us and grow in us till we manifest the earth changing conquering King that the Law and the prophets foretell.
We can easily accept the baby in the manger story – somewhere, sometime ago, in the little town of Bethlehem. But to see the actual Messiah come into the secret place of our hearts and grow in stature and strength still carries too much culture shock for many to comprehend.
Psalms 25:14 - The secret (intimacy) of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.
This event is not confined to a date on the calendar. Christ can be born in you today.
His mercies are new every morning and he is ALL ready to appear as your Messiah. His Kingdom is not of this world, His kingdom begins in you. It’s the very reason that He came. His life was poured out to satisfy every just accusation against your life. His life purchased yours; all you need to do is to realize your need and his provision.
Surrender your ideas, agendas, and ideas of how God is supposed to appear. Accept that He is looking to be birthed into your heart and the real “Secret” Christmas will come at just the right time.
Right Now!
2 Corinthians 5:19-21 (the Living Bible)
This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others. We are Christ’s ambassadors. God is using us to speak to you; we beg you, as though Christ himself were pleading with you, receive the love he offers you-be reconciled to God. For God took the sinless Christ and poured into him our sins, then, in exchange, he poured God’s goodness into us!
2 Corinthians 6:1-2 says: As God's partners, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God's kindness and then ignore it. For God says, "At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you."
Indeed, the "right time" is now. Today is the day of salvation.
The last verse of the familiar Christmas Carol, “Oh Little Town of Bethlehem” says it well.
O holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin and enter in,
Be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell,
O come to us, abide with us,
Out Lord Emmanuel !
Shalom, Pastor Tom Marxen
News:
We now are posting and podcasting MP3 Teachings Recorded Live from the Ministry Center.
NEW LISTING!
Rebecca St. Louis and Jill Smith recorded 10/29/2008
Even in the middle of turbulent times you can Calm down!
Slow yourself down and give yourself 14 minutes to be encouraged and refreshed in your spirit by the song of the Lord sung during our worship at our regular Wednesday night meeting in Newport, Minnesota.
Listen Here
From Rebecca, we get an image that we are rare and handmade pearls in the hand of God; a word picture of our value to the Lord. We are each individual treasures yet similar enough to be stranded together as unique groups that He will never abandon. Listen and hear this song of God's love for us.
Jill Smith steps into this flow with His simple but powerful affirmation of stability and safety in Him. It starts with the words,"Redemption is not always easy, but it's sure..."
Like David with his pouch of stones she steps out sounding a little shaky, but with a few rounds of these encouraging words, Goliath and his brothers begin to fall.
Self consciousness and Fear flees first, and then discouragement, hopelessness, self condemnation, loneliness, weariness, and other ungodly giants that paralyze our progress with the Lord are taken down. She sings out solid words of encouragement from the Spirit of the Lord like:
You are mine, bought with a price, and you will not fall...
Keep your eye on the prize and remember you are mine.
Make no mistake, this is a full 14 minutes of strength bottled in liquid MP3 format that you can take anywhere and drink as needed, a gift from our Awesome God. Thanks also to Georgiann Melton on the guitar.
Selah!
We recommend sharing it as often as you are able.
Download these files from our AUDIO LIBRARY (Go to the library and follow the easy download instructions. Find this track in the "WORSHIP" section)
Listen and see...
Listen the Latest Recorded Live Teaching
To all who have ears, let them hear. Like the Bereans receive this word with gladness and check out the scriptures to confirm that they are true (Acts 17:11).
Read Teachings from Pastor Judy Sky: Read and download REAL LOVE - The Super Nature
Be sure to check out the other new features ar our new website www.3rddayministries.com
If you are blessed by this mailing, be sure to pass it on and invite your freinds.
Be Blessed, Pastor Tom
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